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finish for barnwood picture frame

Started by cinnabar, August 14, 2016, 06:42:50 PM

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cinnabar

I have been matting and framing paintings done by my grandmother for a while now and will need to be making a frame or two of barnwood. 
The wood is douglas fir that was milled by Great grand dad about 1906 from his property in Montana. 
My question is what to put on the finished frame to keep it from splintering and yet, not loose the soft grey color.  I have 3 planks 7' and 1 " thick at varying widths. I am no expert at frame making, so these frames will be simple and rustic to go with a wagon train painting.
Any suggestions will be considered and greatly appreciated.  Thanks a bunch.
cinnabar

mesquite buckeye

Manage 80 acre tree farm in central Missouri and Mesquite timber and about a gozillion saguaros in Arizona.

Hilltop366

what ever you choose try a test on some scrap to see the results.

If the wood is rough it may be hard to get the finish to go on smooth.

69bronco

Water based poly may be the best for not changing looks.

LeeB

Why any finish at all? Inside and out of the weather, the wood will not be subject to rot. Sunlight/light will only enhance the grey. You would want to keep it from direct sunlight anyway to help protect the painting too. I have done many frames for the wife that are unfinished, some from rough wood and some from nicely surfaced wood.
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thecfarm

I would need a picture to give you any advice.  :D  I really just want to see the wood. I have no idea.
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cinnabar







I am letting the wood "speak" as my dad would say to get the best idea as to the cuts.  The frame(or frames) is a panoramic shape. 

My concerns are that the wood is rather crumbly and I am not sure if it will benefit to seal or try to preserve it for future handling.  I guess time will tell.

Larry

Quote from: LeeB on August 15, 2016, 10:36:15 AM
Why any finish at all? Inside and out of the weather, the wood will not be subject to rot. Sunlight/light will only enhance the grey. You would want to keep it from direct sunlight anyway to help protect the painting too. I have done many frames for the wife that are unfinished, some from rough wood and some from nicely surfaced wood.

I like the above answer.

If your afraid the wood will crumble there are three choices that I know about.  CPES, which is really thin penetrating epoxy, Minwax wood hardener, and super glue.  Do your research and if you pick one, test it before using it on the show wood.

Larry, making useful and beautiful things out of the most environmental friendly material on the planet.

We need to insure our customers understand the importance of our craft.

cinnabar

I finally got the first round of frames done, simple and rustic like I wanted.  No treatment on the wood, just handle with care. 



 

samandothers

Nicely done! Great looking non-finish!

Weekend_Sawyer

Very nice!
How did you put them together.
Can we get a close up of the painting?

Jon
Imagine, Me a Tree Farmer.
Jon, Appalachian American Wannabe.

terrifictimbersllc

Is that a staircase they're on? Looks pretty steep. 
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cinnabar

The stair case is not as steep as it appears, must be the angle of the camera. ;D

This is the only photo of the construction process that I have.
The inset frames are sized to hold the matted print, backing and Plexiglas (to keep it light).
Since the wood had a lot of knots and thin spots, each inset was marked for the pre drilling according to the barn wood's texture.
A couple barn wood pieces had to be shimmed due to lack of cooperation with the inset. That was way more work, but I only had to do it on one frame.  Then clamp, glue and screw to fasten.

The print of the wagon train is actual size of Grandmothers mural proof, 3"X27" in watercolor.
These are going to my siblings as late Christmas gifts.


Brad_bb

I've finished all of my barnwood(hardwoods) with General Finishes High Performance FLAT.  It will darken the color a bit as any finish will, but it can also bring out the color and actually look better.  It's a good finish to try.  

If your wood is crumbly, don't use it, it's rotted.  If it's just splintery, that just means it's brittle.  I've had old straight grain cedar fence boards like that.  
Anything someone can design, I can sure figure out how to fix!
If I say it\\\\\\\'s going to take so long, multiply that by at least 3!

cinnabar

Thanks Brad_bb for the tip on finish.  I still have more wood to make into frames and might give your suggestion a try. 
The wood is not rotted at all, just splintery.  Still gives off a pine scent when cutting. 
Found out from my cousin that the engine used for the mill was an Advance Rumley that they used for threshing as well. The wood was cut about 1902 and the buildings went up shortly after.

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